


My Emperor

by squeallyeel22



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternative Universe - Alchemy, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2020-12-16 23:10:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21044345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squeallyeel22/pseuds/squeallyeel22
Summary: When you wake up in a different world, it takes some adjusting. Especially when you’re now a potential bride for the Crown Prince of the Korean Empire. But even that is not what it seems…





	1. Prologue

_You ran through the halls, fear gripping your heart. The man you thought was your best friend chased after you, but right now you couldn’t face him. He lied about who he was. What he was. So you ran, like any human would. Ran from a vampire and your future._  
~~~~~~~~~~  
When you woke up a night of drinking, you were expecting a hangover. Not to be shaken awake in a room completely different than your own. The woman shaking your shoulder spoke in Korean, rushing you to get out of bed (how you knew what she was saying was beyond you since you stopped learning after the 주세요). You were ushered into another room where a bath was waiting for you. After being stripped and bathed, you were dressed in a pale blue and pink hanbok. It was when they began on your hair that you realised that your hair had grow past your waist. When you were finally left alone for a moment, a tear slipped down your cheek.  
“How?”  
~~~~~~~~~  
“Where is she?!” Demanded a booming voice as a handmaiden rushed to move you to the main area of your room.  
“Here, your Majesty.”  
The Queen Dowager. Your gaze shifted to the floor.  
“Where is she from?”  
“The American Kingdom, Ma’am.”  
“Do you speak Korean?” The Queen Dowager stares at you.  
Your lips automatically respond in Korean, “Yes, your Majesty.”  
Glaring at you for a moment, she gives a curt nod and leaves. After a while, the head handmaiden turns to you, squealing to herself.  
“You did it! You’re in! I was so worried you’d do something foolish.”  
“I guess I’m still waking up. I don’t even remember what’s going on.”  
She rolls her eyes, “How could you forget?”  
You simply shrug. She leads you back into you room, “Honestly,” she mumbles under her breath.  
“Amelie, do you remember her schedule?” One of the Queen Dowager’s hand-maids stopped your head handmaiden.  
“Of course. I will see to it that she is on time to her first lesson.”  
Once you were left alone, Amelie turned to you, “Your father was smart for putting you through those lessons.  
You nod, ‘Maybe this is a bad dream,’ you thought as you went through your day, but the next day when you woke, you were still here. And the day after that. And the day after that. 

You were stuck here.


	2. Escape

During your time here, you were to attend classes on how to act in court, be proper, be the best wife (aka boring classes that you had already taken in America.) But as the days past by, memories of your life here filtered into your mind. You were the daughter of a nobleman in the Midwest area of the American Kingdom. Apparently the American Revolution never happened and yet the country wasn’t doing much better. You remember every single suitor that came for your hand and rejecting each one. Last year your father was diagnosed with cancer. Now it was a race for you to get married and have a grandchild before he passes. So you were sent to Korea to answer the call for the Crown Prince’s hand in marriage.

One day, you had enough and snuck away from your classes and ran through the garden to the forest at the edge. Once you made it past the the treeline, you slowed to a walk and began to wander amongst the trees. Taking a deep breath, you finally felt relaxed. Soon enough you stumbled upon a small pool off in the distance. Being mindful of your skirt (the hanbok being the only thing you wear nowadays), you sit on a rock near the water. You must have closed your eyes at some point, enjoying the sounds of the forest.  
“Are you lost?”  
Gasping, you fall into the pond, “Fuck!”  
A hand reached out to you, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the man’s sharp eyes look at you with concern as you grab his hand. His black hair is tousled about, the longest pieces falling into his eyes. Damn, is he beautiful. He pulls you up and helps you out of the water.  
“What are you doing this far from the palace? Are you lost?” The man takes off his jacket and wraps it around your shoulders. With shaky hands, you pull it tighter to you.  
“I needed to get away,” you grit out before something clicks, “How did you know I was from the palace?”  
“Your hanbok is that of one of the fiancés to the Crown Prince. All citizens know it.”  
You can’t bring yourself to meet his eye, “Ah.”  
He kneels in front of you, “What’s your name, if I may ask?”  
“I’ll tell you if you tell me yours.”  
Smirking, “I’m Leo.”  
“Y/N. Why are you in the forest? Are you lost as well?”  
You think you see a smile as his head falls forwards, “No. This is my home. I’m never lost.”  
“Oh..”  
After a moment of silence, “So did you come to Korea to seek out the Crown Prince?” There’s a sharp undertone to his voice, almost like he’s accusing you of something.  
“I came here for my father. It’s his last wish to see me married and with child before he passes away.”  
“But what of the men back home?”  
“There was no one for me there. They only cared about the title and the money. There’s a lot of girls like that in the palace.”  
“But you’re not after the title of Empress?”  
“If I was, would I be in the forest wanting to escape the insanity of the palace? I don’t even know what the Prince looks like. Fancy titles mean nothing to me. I just want to make my father happy before he passes away.”  
He nods before looking to the sky, “I need to leave soon.”  
“Misses missing you?”  
He chuckles, “No, there’s no misses. But I do have a friend that I need to see,” he stands and turns to leave before stopping, “Will I see you here again?”  
“If I can sneak past the guards.”  
“I see. Until next time, Y/N.”  
Ooh your name sounded nice when he said it. The Crown Prince better watch out. Leo might just beat him.


	3. Sneaking Around

In the days that followed, you would sneak out to see Leo whenever you could. He was very sweet, always listening to your struggles in the palace.  
“I don’t understand why though,” you lament as you lean on a rock next to him. You were explaining to him how a bunch of the prospective brides were ruthless trying to impress anyone and everyone, “It’s not like the staff are going to report how fantastic they are to the prince.”  
He chuckles at that, “Maybe that’s what they’ve been told happens.”  
“Still, it’s stupid. If the prince wants to be impressed by someone that’s going to be stuck with him, he should see them in person.”  
Leo goes to say something but changes his mind.  
“So why stay if you don’t want to get married? I know it’s your father’s wish, but it’s your life.”  
You wistfully look at the water, not knowing what to say. While you had your freedom back home, you felt a pull to come here. Perhaps it was because of that freedom that your father had gifted you that you couldn’t help but feel that you should give him this in return.  
“He looked after me after my mom passed away, but he didn’t keep me so close that I couldn’t do what I wanted. I’m very lucky to have him as a father, but I guess, in a way, this is my way of repaying him for everything.  
Leo doesn’t say anything but wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling into a side hug.  
~~~~~~~  
One day you didn’t make it in the afternoon, but managed to get to the spring around sunset. As you waited, a chill ran up your spine. Something was wrong. You waited but kept your back against a thick tree.  
Footsteps sounded in the distance. You don’t move from your spot.  
“Y/N?” A deep baritone voice calls.  
Peeking from behind the tree, you see a man with short brown hair, wide bright blue eyes and a strong jaw. Cautiously, you step out from your spot.  
“I’m Hongbin. Leo sent me. He won’t be able to meet you tonight.”  
“Why not?”  
“He said trouble with his mother.”  
You nod.  
“You should come with me for tonight. My cabin is not far from here and the forest is far from safe at night.”  
“I should return to the palace. Don’t want to be gone for too long, otherwise they might send out the guard to look for me.”  
Hongbin smirks, “What’s another hour?”


	4. Cabin in the Woods

You don’t know what possessed you, but you followed this strange man, but if he was a friend of Leo, he couldn’t be that bad. Could he?   
When you entered the cabin, you were expecting to look like, I don’t know, someplace that people lived. Not books, bottles, and a variety of weird looking plants strewn about every flat surface.   
“How do you live like this?”  
“I don’t have company over often enough to warrant cleaning up,” he shrugs as he piles books from a chair, clearing a space for you to sit down.   
“You mentioned Leo was your friend. Does he not visit?”  
Hongbin rolls his eyes, “No. We’re usually at his place or wandering around. But now onto a more important topic; I’m quite curious as to how much you know about what goes on in the palace.”  
“What do you mean?” You ask as you sit.  
“Do you know how much danger you’re in just by being there?”  
Your eyes widen before shrugging him off, “How? I know the Empress is intense but that’s all. Why does this matter to you?”  
Hongbin takes a deep breath, holding back a wince, “You really don’t know. I was hoping Leo was only joking. How can you be in the running to become the next Empress without knowing the most important detail?”  
“Well sorry my classes didn’t give me every bit of juicy information. So stop complaining and tell me what makes the Royal family so dangerous.”  
“They’re vampires.”  
“What?”  
“You know. Bloodsuckers. Creatures of the night.”  
You laugh to yourself, “That’s impossible.”  
You weren’t wrong, at least, in regards to your universe. Vampires were just a myth, but here. It could be completely different and that didn’t occur to you. At least not until now.  
“It’s a known fact. Did you skip your history classes?”  
“What? No,” you scoff.  
Hongbin leans forward and you swear that his eyes flicker for a second.  
“Now that’s interesting,” He leans back, “Your aura is different.”  
“My aura?”  
“It’s like you’ve been ripped away and then stitch into this world.”  
You stand to leave, rushing towards the door, “Thank you for your hospitality, but I should be going.”  
Just as you open it, the door slams shut, the locks clicking into place. You spin around, now staring into Hongbin’s glowing blue eyes  
“It’s night time and you just found out that vampires are real. Do you think that leaving is the best idea right now?”  
“How do I know you’re not a vampire?” Your back hit the door as you kept you eyes on Hongbin.  
“Because I’m something else. Immortal, but not a vampire.”  
“Then what?” Your is voice small, foreign to your ears.  
He sighs, “I’m an Alchemist. One of the few left in this world anyway,” Hongbin looks down before looking back at her, “You can stay here tonight. I’ll go and alert a guard so he knows that I have you safe.”  
“Why not just take me back?”  
“Because I can’t protect you and if we’re attacked, it’s me or you. Leo can kiss my ass.”  
With that, he moves you from in front of the door as the locks click again and leaves. The locks click yet again, keeping you trapped. Well fuck. You look around at the cabin, unsure what to do before noticing a book on the kitchen table with a pen next to it. Gathering your skirt, you carefully make your way over to it and begin to flip through the pages. Nothing interested you as you flipped through the pages and you were about to move on when you landed on the page titled _Potions for Vampires_. There were recipes for sun protection, changing their eye colour, strength booster…weird. Why would a vampire need a strength booster?  
The locks click again.


	5. A Bodyguard... Great

“If you wanted to look at my stuff, you should’ve asked,” Hongbin’s stare cuts through you. The book slams shut and flies into his hand, “I brought a guard to escort you back to the palace.”

A man the same height as Hongbin enters. His hair reminds you of Leo, long and falling into his eyes, but the sides are shaved. His bright red eyes have a droop to them, but there is an intensity that sends shivers up your spine. This is not a man to mess around with.

“I was wondering where you were when I couldn’t find you in the palace,” his deep voice washes over you, “Thank you, Hongbin, for locating my charge. The Crown Prince has assigned me to look after you and I can see why if you run away like this.”

“The same Crown Prince I have yet to meet?”

“Ravi, you need to get her back before _she _finds out,” Hongbin cuts off Ravi before he can snap back. With a quick glance at the Alchemist, Ravi takes an unnecessary breath before turning back to you, “Let’s go.” You’re in his arms you were racing through the forest and back in your room in the palace before you can blink.

“Thank you,” you murmur as Ravi takes off your shoes and gets your ladies maids. He stands in the corner, looking at his phone as you are prepared for bed. As the maids leave, he approaches you again, bowing slightly.

“I want to discuss with you what you said earlier.”

You just look at him, giving him a quick nod. You knew it was coming anyway.

“His highness is very busy preparing to ascend to the throne. It’s taking all his focus to take over an empire that’s this old.”

That’s when you snapped, “Not where he needs to pick someone to spend the rest of eternity with?” You only ever hear about how busy the Crown Prince is, how he’s rarely in the Palace at all.For someone that is so pressed to find a wife, it’s pisses you off that he doesn’t care about any of the princesses. Even the princesses piss you off with how they take advantage of the royal family’s hospitality.

Ravi’s eyes drift down, “Why put all that effort into a relationship that might not happen? The change is hard on the human body. Barely anyone that goes through it survives. Those that do make the most out of this life in anyway they can.”

“So the extensive amount of prospectful brides…?”

“Just in case…” he mumbles after a moment.

You get up and walk away towards the window, your stomach twisting.

“Why not marry a vampire then?”

“Then the promise of a child is lost.”

“What?”

He walks over to you, but keeps his distance, “When a royal vampire marries a human, a ritual is performed to create a bond between the royal and the human. It is this bond that allows the royal to father a child for the first year of marriage. Once that year is done and the child has been born, the royal can choose to turn his wife.”

“What if she doesn’t want to be turned?”

“Then she finishes her mortal life with respect, but that doesn’t happen often.”

You spin, lips curled, “So I’m just a number to the emperor?!”

“No—“

“Shut up. That’s exactly what this is,” You spit, “Leave. I want to be alone.”

The sound of the door closing snaps something in you as a single tear falls down your cheek.


	6. Gossip Girls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so um...I completely forgot to add actual chapter 5 so it's up now

It was going to take you a while before you could go back to the forest. Not only was Ravi constantly around you, but the revelation of the royal family’s nature kept you on edge. On top of that, the prince, who had been silent towards the princesses before, had started requesting that each of the girls’ company individually. No one knew what exactly went down during these sessions and the girls that had already gone would often lie or keep changing their story when asked. 

You had tried asking them, but after they would either ignore you or give you everything in explicit detail, you had given up. Some of the recounts that you were told sounded more like they were done with someone else. Like how can a man who refuses to show his face or even speak to the fiancés start having crazy wild sex in his office? In any case, you weren’t looking forward to your session one bit.  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
“I don’t understand why you’re so apprehensive about this,” Ju-ang tuttered as she looked up from her book, “Why did you come to Korea if you’re just going to sulk the entire time? Even Sarah from the British Empire is ecstatic to be here and she doesn’t know Korean.”  
You liked Ju-ang, she was after the crown, yes, but she’s one of the very few that are okay with not being picked. Thus allowing you two to gossip about all the cut-throats in the other section of the house time to time. Plus it helped that Ravi wasn’t permitted in this area as it was women only.  
“How did she get past the Queen Dowager’s examination with that anyway?”  
“My thoughts are that she’s old money. You know how it is amongst the higher end of the bourgeoisie. Also, I heard she knows the Queen Dowager personally.”  
You scoff, “But why buy your way into a family if you can’t speak their language? Seems counter-productive.”  
Ju-ang rolls her eye, “You forget how these girls are: Young, naïve, and money hungry. If she is picked, she won’t bother learning. She’ll have a translator. On top of that, I heard that the Prince can speak English quite well.”  
You go silent, pondering over how your life now was. You sometimes forget that you’re from another universe. Gone were the electronics, replaced with an ambiguous magic that took years to master. That reminded you. You should ask Hongbin about a charger for your phone. That is, if he doesn’t take it to experiment on it. You sighed at that. Maybe if you were chosen, you could have a court mage look into it.  
“What would you do if you were picked anyway?” You pondered out loud. Ju-ang sighs, bookmarking her page before setting it down.  
“I don’t know. Hold off on the change. May not go through with it at all. I know I would try to be a just queen, but who knows how much the Queen Dowager will have influence over the Prince. I heard he’s quite the mama’s boy.”  
“Of course he is,” 

You stand, leaving the room, not really paying attention you to where you were going. You took a turn and were greeted by one of the princesses draped around an official. Wait. You recognised her face. It was Sarah!  
A scoff escapes pass your lips, alerting them of your presence. She looks at you, “Help….me,” she breathes before collapsing to the floor. Your eyes meet bright red ones and with a gasp, you run back to your room, sliding down against the door as you catch your breath.

That was an advisor’s son. Hyuk was his name. But he was always so kind to everyone and now? You just saw him kill someone with your own eyes. You needed to get out of here. You needed Leo.

A knock startled you back to reality, Ravi’s voice muffled through the wood.  
“Y/N, you’ve been requested by the Prince.”


	7. The First Session

You didn’t know what to expect when you were brought to the Prince’s study. Heck you were still reeling from what just happened.

“You’ll be fine,” Ravi reassures you before opening the door. He must’ve heard your racing heart.

“Your Highness, Miss Y/N L/N of the American Kingdom,” he announces as he bows in front of you.

You couldn’t see the Crown Prince due to the partition of frosted glass. His features were obscure, but you could see the glowing red of his eyes and his hair looked to be white. After you bow, Ravi turns and leans in close to your ear, “He won’t talk, but you’re to be with him until he signals you to leave. Just..don’t go beyond the barrier.”

After that, he leaves.

Alone with the one man you came here for. The bane and saviour of your life at this moment.

You just stand there for a while, unsure what to do. Looking around, you take in the study. It has a minimal yet luxurious décor. To your left, you know a spare calligraphy set. That’ll help you get your mind off of earlier.

“I don’t know what you expect from me,” you declare, “or how long you want me to be here, but I’m going to do my own thing during these sessions.”

As you turn to go grab the set, a small bell rings out. Instantly, Ravi enters, eyebrows furrowed as your heart stops. Were you not supposed to do that? 

Right as Ravi grabs your arm, the bell rings out again. You share a confused look with the guard before he goes to the prince. You can’t hear what they’re saying, but you see Ravi go to move something to be in front of the prince. Soon he returns to situate you close to the partition before placing a small desk on the floor. After giving you the calligraphy set, Ravi bows to the prince and then leaves yet again. You look up at the partition to see what looks like the Crown Prince himself writing. Shrugging, you begin to write. It starts as nonsense, but soon you fall into writing a letter for your father, pushing the event with Sarah to the back of your mind.

~~~~~~

Two hours had passed when you next looked at the clock. Standing, you gather your letter and bow to the prince.

“Your Highness, I will be leaving now.”

You watch him for a second and right before you turned, you barely catch him nodding. As you walk out of the study, Ravi is standing there facing the hallway. 

“Ravi, will you take me back to my room?”

The idea of walking back to your room has you shaking and forgetting the fact that he has to walk with you anyway. He spins around, red eyes wide, “Why wasn’t I called to get you?”

“I asked if I could leave. Now I just want to sleep please."

You didn’t sleep that night.


	8. Needing Answers

It was after the third session that you decided to go see Hongbin. You needed to know more about vampires and he was the only one that could reliably tell you. 

That morning, you woke up extra early to avoid the maids and Ravi and ran towards Hongbin’s cabin. When you approached the spring you slowed to a walk, taking care to go the right way. Soon the familiar cabin came into view and a very familiar face inspecting a bush outside. As soon as he spot you, Hongbin rushes inside, but you can hear muffled yelling. You were about to knock when the door swings open.

“Y/N! To what do I owe this pleasure?” Hongbin greets you. 

“I have questions. Was someone visiting you just now?”

“Huh? Oh, he’d been a pain in my side all morning. I finally got to kick him out thanks to you. Come on in.”

He holds the door open for you. The room was a little more clean than last time. At least two of the chairs you could actually sit on without moving anything.

“So what kind of questions do you have?”

“Tell me all that you can about vampires.”

He raises a brow at that, “You are just wanting to know now?”

You roll your eyes, “The prince started doing one on one sessions.”

“Oh?” Hongbin smirks.

“Not that kind, you pervert!” You smack him without realising, “Oh! Sorry.”

He brushes it off, “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I’ll bite your head off.”

You sigh, collapsing into one of the chairs, “Look, you’re the only one that knows I’m not from this universe. I don’t know the first thing about this world. And while I do have the memories of this world’s version of me, but it’s just enough to know who I was.”

You bury your head in your hands, the stress from everything finally hitting you. Hongbin kneels down, placing a hand on your shoulder, “You can come to me anytime, Y/N. I know it must be rough going through this alone, but I’ll help you. You need only ask. I know was rather threatening last time, but you needed to know the danger you were in and Leo truly did ask me to watch after you.”

“What?”

“Look. Leo..has some family problems. His mom is rather controlling and has some high expectations for him.”

“..He lives in the forest,” you cross your arms.

“To which she very much disapproves of and has tried to keep him on lockdown.”

Certainly explains why you haven’t seen him in a while. “But why doesn’t he just leave?”

Hongbin sighs, “He’s to take over the family business. He’s been trying to since his dad died. Personally, I think you should talk about this with him next time you see him.”

“Okay,” you nod, “Then let’s get back to why I came here in the first place.

“Very well. To start off, you must understand that there are two types of vampires: Those that have killed and those that have not. Now, it isn’t cut down the middle, but every vampire starts as one that has not killed. Obviously. Once a vampire kills someone directly by draining them, it starts them on a slippery slope where an urge begins to force them to strike again and again and again.”

“Is there a way to stop it?”

“If there is, it is well hidden. I do have a friend down South that’s studying this but I haven’t heard from her in a while,” his eyes dull a bit before he goes to grab his journal, “In my studies I did write down some differences between the two. Have you noticed that Ravi’s eyes are bright red?”

You nod.

“That’s how you can tell. The eyes are the best indicator.”

“But Hyuk’s eyes aren’t like that…,” you mutter under your breath.

“What was that?”

You meet his eyes, “One of the officials’ sons in court. He didn’t have red eyes, but I saw him kill one of the fiancés.”

Hongbin drops everything, coming right up to you and grabbing your shoulders, “His name. What was his name?” His grip tightens.

“Ow! I only heard him referred to as Hyuk.

He let’s go before pacing, “No…nonononono! Fuck!” He kicks a bucket, sending it across the room.

“What is it?” You start moving to him, skittering to a stop when he starts to glow. Four glowing blue orbs start to float from in front of him before shooting through the window.

“Hongbin? What’s wrong?”

Finally he turns after taking a deep breath, “Hyuk is a friend of mine, but he is young and easily swayed. I fear she got to him.”

Before you could say anything, three men rush into the small cramped cabin: Ravi, another official (Jaehwan, you remember. He’s quite nice to you) and…

“Leo??”

He spins, eyes wide, “Y/N? What are you doing here?”

“I invited her over,” Hongbin quickly lies, “But we got bigger problems.”

“I’ll say,” Ravi interjects, “Hakyeon’s on the rampage. I need to get her back.”

You share a look with Hongbin, “What?”

Ravi spares no time in picking you up, “They’re narrowing down the amount of fiancés.”

The last thing you see is Leo’s eyes staring at you with longing before the forest blurs.


	9. Just My Luck

You hadn’t had much interaction with Hakyeon, but goddamn is he terrifying when he is on a mission. Granted he is the royal family’s secretary, so making the palace run smoothly is his job. Still it didn’t help calm the bundle of nerves settling in the pit of your stomach as you raced back to the palace.

Right as Ravi plops you down, your eyes met Ju-ang’s, who raises an eyebrow as you try to make yourself presentable. You turn to Ravi, ready to ask him about what happened back there but he cuts you off.

“We’ll talk when Hakyeon is done.”

Your eyes narrow, “Only if I’m allowed to stay.”

“Either way, there isn’t time.”

He escorts you and Ju-ang to the main lounge where all the other girls are waiting. Quite a few of them had annoyed looks on their face like how dare their time be wasted like this and others were quietly talking with each other. A couple of girls shot death glares at you, no doubt because of your nightgown but oh well. At least it was one of your nicer ones.

The door slams open, two guards rushing to their positions on each side of the doorway as Hakyeon gracefully strode forth, clapping his hands to grab everyone’s attention.

“Listen up, if I call your name, you are to step forward and form a line.”

Your hands begin to shake as you watch one after one walk up to stand in front of the man. Then he stopped and took a moment to glance amongst them.

“All thirty-six of you are dismissed. The Crown Prince has decided that you may return to your respective kingdoms.”

_Oh shit that’s most of the group_. You and Ju-ang share a look, both shocked and relieved that you both got to stay.

“Now, if you may, go collect your—“

“I’ll take it from here,” Jisoo, the Queen Dowager’s high matron interjects. You didn’t even hear her come in, “By orders of the Queen Dowager.”

“Very well.” Maybe it was just you, but Hakyeon seemed to get rather tense with this order as he gave her a slight bow. She turns to the women, “Gather your things, We’ll make preparations for your journey home, but you are not stay in this building any longer. We have a guest home that will serve as your in-between home for now.”

Why did that not sit well with you?

“The rest of you, go about your regular business.”

Then Hakyeon’s bright red eyes fell upon you, “Why aren’t you properly dressed?”

You looked down at the robe that you had through over your nightgown earlier that morning, “I wanted to see the sunrise, sir. I simply lost track of time…” You quickly lied.

Hakyeon stares at you for a moment but doesn’t say anything before discussing something with the guards at the doorway. Ravi taps on your shoulder and gestures for you to return to your room. As soon as you were beyond earshot of everyone else, you turned to him, “Why was Leo there?”

“He’s a friend of Hyuk’s.”

“So? What could he do to help? He’s just a hu—“

“I got Hongbin’s message but I was swamped. Figured I’d run into you and ask. What’s going on?”

Your eyes widen as you turned to see Hakyeon with a very concerned expression on his face. Ravi sighs heavily, “You’re not going to like it, hyung.”

“Then spit it out.”

“Y/N saw Hyuk drain Sarah of the British Isles.”

“Fuck, I’ll need to bring this,” his eyes shift between you and Ravi, “to the prince’s attention. He won’t be too happy to hear about this.”

“He already knows. She went to Hongbin’s this morning. That’s how we found out.” Ravi, the little shit, ratted you out.

“Certainly explains the nightgown. In any case, at least I don’t have to deal with his anger. His mother is already more than I can handle.”

You looked between the two, confused. Yeah you heard rumours about the Queen Dowager, but nothing definitive. Especially relating to anything about the upcoming wedding.

“Can you explain to me exactly why she’s more than you can handle? I’ve only heard rumours about her from the other girls.”

Hakyeon stared at you like you just grew another head and then it grew its own second head.

“H-How—?”

“She’s not from this universe,” Ravi rushes out under his breath. He looks at you, eyes telling you he’s sorry. The secretary pinches the bridge of his nose as he takes a deep breath.

“The Queen Dowager has been ruling the Empire ever since His Majesty passed away unexpectedly when the Crown Prince was 16. She has basically trapped him in his study forcing him to learn nonsense upon nonsense in order to become Emperor. The wedding is her latest stunt. She specifically choose to invite unfavourable women. Those that had been spoiled a little too much by their parents, but I was the one who opened the call to other families.”

“Hence why I’m here…in a way.”

“Yes. It was an attempt to throw her off, which worked for a little bit, but I fear she’s gaining her footing again. She has more than half the council on her side since she has been keeping the economy strong.”

Ravi groans, “She’s getting harder to touch. Prince Taekwoon won’t like this.”

You swear you see the corner of Hakyeon’s lip curl up slightly.

“No, he won’t.”

“Perhaps there’s something in her study? Or her room?”

The men exchange a look before turning back to you.

“Perhaps, but for now, try now to draw attention to yourself. With less potential brides around, actions are more noticeable.”

You nod solemnly.

“By the way, why were you at Hongbin’s so early in the morning?”

You stumble over your words, “I-I wanted to know more about vampires and since I thought he was the only one that knew I wasn’t from around..here..that he wouldn’t judge me for not knowing.”

Ravi places a hand on your shoulder, “Y/N, we won’t make fun of you. Also, there are five of us that know you’re not from here. Hongbin’s shit at keeping secrets from us. But seriously, you can ask us anytime.”

“Thank you.” That probably the first smile you had since that night happened, but now…now your world is crumbling in on itself and you’ve barely seen Leo enough to keep you grounded.


End file.
